New Gorilla

We are pleased to introduce our newest resident at the Great Ape House at Hogle Zoo. He is an 18 year old male gorilla named Husani. Husani was born at the Bronx Zoo in 1991 and has lived at two other zoos before making Hogle Zoo his home in May 2010.
At the age of 18 y.o., he is considered a young silverback and has a silver coat on his back and his legs. As male gorillas mature, the top of the head known as a sagital crest, will continue to grow. Husani is svelte (~375 lbs.) and tall (~5.5 ‘ ) and may fill out more as he develops and matures. He is taller and thinner than our other silverback, Tino, who is more short and stout. Husani has a very calm demeanor and interacts well to the keeper staff. He has shown a real interest in the guests who visit him, especially the children.
At Hogle Zoo, we will be embarking on a new challenge of managing a bachelor troop of gorillas. With more than 50% of births being males and the strategy of managing gorillas in mixed sexed groups, with one male and multiple females, there is a strong need for AZA institutions to work with the Gorilla Species Survival Plan (SSP) to manage males in bachelor troops. Male gorillas will also live solitary or in bachelor groups in the wild. Most successful bachelor groups are developed by introducing male gorillas when they are black backs or younger. Introducing mature males is more challenging and has had mixed success. We plan to do a long, structured introduction process to increase the probability of managing Tino with Husani together.